This is the millennium of sports – and thank God! For someone who loves athletics (and athletes!) as much as I do I couldn’t be happier at the direction the Philippines has taken in embracing all different athletic disciplines; be it the age-old favorite of basketball, the corporate bigwigs choice of golf, or even the yuppie choice du jour of badminton we Manileños are finally getting off the couch and getting onto the field.
Another great thing about this sports boom is the inculcation of extreme games into our wide roster of choices and even better than that – training that’s of equal opportunities. Nowadays, it’s not strange to hear of women boxing or men doing aerobics. It’s a free for all with people bettering their lives through fitness and fun. Man, I love being a part of this sports-minded era!
In line with the sudden interest in gyms and fitness in the city, many proprietors of sports havens have realized that better living through athletics shouldn’t only be for the many well-to-do sports lovers who can afford it. Admittedly, while many see sports as just games there are so many life lessons that can be learned while on the field, on the court, or in the ring.
At least that’s the belief shared by the group behind The Flash Memorial Foundation Incorporated (Flash after the late boxing champ Flash Elorde). Comprised of Sharon and Paul Fernandez, Charlie Gamboa, Ren Jose, Mark Elorde, Bobby Gamboa, and Joseph Juico, this group is the same team that brought us the popular fitness boxing gym, Ringside at the Alabang Commercial Business Center. Ringside is one of many boxing instructional venues in the city (like my training home, Bakbakan in OTTC) and they offer a very specialized training program that not only allows beginners or advanced boxing students to better their boxing skills but to train them in values such as fair-play, discipline, and dedication.
"We realized after having opened the gym that we wanted to somehow help the less fortunate," Charlie Gamboa says. "When we started this gym, we all had a dream of doing more than just teaching, we wanted to give back to the community."
This dream was realized when the civic-minded members of Ringside came across the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation that shelters and educates children of all different backgrounds who have lost their homes and for many who have even lost their families. Connected with the Don Bosco educational institution, Tuloy sa Don Bosco helps street children realized their worth and attain more than they could have ever imagined possible through a life on the streets.
"We found this charity was a great place for us to help out," Charlie relates. "We collaborated with them to teach the boys boxing. Through this we hope to make a psycho-social intervention and teach them through sports."
Charlie and the other members and trainers in Ringside help teach the boys life lessons through boxing by relating the sport to situations in everyday life. For example, the core lesson Ringside tries to teach the children is that balance is the key to healthy and happy living. They relate this lesson to learning proper footwork and fighting stances since boxing is really as much about proper footwork as it is about punching and hitting.
"We compare the ring to life," Charlie adds when asked about the specialized program offered by the Flash Memorial Foundation Incorporated. "Like in the ring, we have an opponent, we face challenges and we try our best to win. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t but we train harder and we try again."
The Foundation aims to give these boys a better understanding of life through sport training and at the same time help the children grow physically and mentally at the same time. It’s not just about learning how to box, it’s about inculcating the kind of discipline needed in boxing into everyday lives. It’s about character building and empowerment through knowledge and education.
At the moment, the Flash Memorial Foundation caters to 27 children in their Alabang gym and another 200 at the school. "It’s not an easy program," Charlie admits. "We’ve had students quitting after maybe a few sessions. We don’t want the children to just do this to pass the time. We want them to learn and improve and the only way they can do that is to be really dedicated and disciplined."
The Foundation, which began in November 2003, is comprised of a series of modules that lasts three months. Within these months, the students learn all the basics of boxing including the proper footwork, punches, and training methods. They have a strict guideline of warm-ups, jump rope, steps training, and punching with bags. From there they move on to bagging and padding and eventually end up practicing their moves in sparring sessions in the ring.
At the end of the program the Foundation offers the students the opportunity to opt for additional training and possibly entrance into the amateur boxing league with the high chance of being able to make it a living.
"We’re very happy to be able to give something back," Charlie says about the program. "And we’re just beginning. We hope to be able to help even more kids in the future. It’s a very good way to help these kids who really don’t have anywhere else to go."
With the zeal to help and the ambition to reach even more needy children, Charlie and the Ringside group hope to enlarge their scope this year and help teach more children to better their lives through boxing and proper mind development.
With this positive step in the right direction, programs like the Flash Memorial Foundation’s program certainly help clear up age-old misconceptions that boxing is all about violence (I mean admittedly, it doesn’t help that icons like Mike Tyson go around biting their opponent’s ear off). Boxing, like every other sport, is basically a discipline, a choice, and a lifestyle. Even more than just beating your opponent up it’s about learning the proper technique and perfecting it. Like the folks from the Flash Foundation maintain: "It’s about empowerment through learning and about finding your balance." Indeed even the wise ancient Greeks used to say, life is all about balance and moderation.